Penguins at Rangers
The New York Rangers sure hope that history repeats itself, since the previous time they claimed the Presidents' Trophy after setting a franchise high in both wins and points resulted in a Stanley Cup title. Admittedly that was 1994, but the Rangers can take the next step in duplicating that feat when they open their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
"We understand now it's a little different animal to prepare," captain Ryan McDonagh told the New York Daily News. "We realize you've got to raise your level. We don't need to flip the switch on the style that we play." The clash is a rematch of last season's second-round series, which saw New York overcome a 3-1 deficit to emerge victorious in seven games. The Rangers also had little difficulty with their Metropolitan Division rivals this season, recording a 3-0-1 mark while outscoring the Penguins by a 16-7 margin. Pittsburgh extended its consecutive playoff streak to nine seasons after securing a berth on the last day of the campaign, posting a 2-0 victory over woeful Buffalo for just its fourth win in 15 outings (4-9-2).
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, TVA, ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (43-27-12): Evgeni Malkin (co-leading 28 goals) collected two tallies and an assist versus New York, but superstar captain Sidney Crosby (team-high 84 points) mustered just two points in the four meetings. The reigning Hart Trophy winner, Crosby was also bottled up in the playoff series last season - recording a goal and two assists in the first four contests before being held off the scoresheet in the final three games. Marc-Andre Fleury (34-20-9, 2.32 goals-against average, .920 save percentage) was arguably the team's MVP this season after notching a league-leading and career-best 10 shutouts, but the netminder's play in the postseason has been under fire since he guided the Penguins to a Game 7 victory over Detroit in the 2009 Stanley Cup final.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (53-22-7): Rick Nash was taken to task publicly after scoring just three goals in 25 games during the playoffs last year, but he netted four of his career-best 42 tallies and added three assists against the Penguins this season. Linemates Derick Brassard (career-best 19 goals, 41 assists, 60 points) and Mats Zuccarello (49 points) are coming off strong seasons, with the former recording five points (two goals, three assists) versus Pittsburgh. Cam Talbot exceeded expectations with a scintillating performance in place of Henrik Lundqvist (30-13-3, 2.25 GAA, .922 save percentage), who returned without issue from a vascular injury and has routinely proven his worth in the postseason.
OVERTIME
1. New York D Kevin Klein, who has been sidelined with a broken left arm since March 11, is expected to miss the series opener.
2. Pittsburgh LW Chris Kunitz has scored just one goal in his last 21 contests.
3. The Penguins were third-best on the penalty kill (84.8 percent) and 10th on the power play (19.3), while the Rangers ranked sixth on the PK (84.3) and 21st with the man advantage (16.8).
SERIES